AP Photo/Autostock, Nigel KinradeAustin Dillon celebrates his win with a burnout after the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Kentucky Speedway, Friday, June 29, 2012, in Sparta, Ky.

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

SPARTA, Ky. -- Friday was a night of emotions for Austin Dillon, who enjoyed the euphoria of his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, followed by the depressing news that his No. 3 Chevrolet had failed the height stick test in post-race inspection.

Dillon also took over the series lead from Richard Childress Racing teammate Elliott Sadler, but his slim two-point advantage is in jeopardy in the face of a possible NASCAR penalty because the rear of his car was deemed too low.

"I've never seen Austin so high and so low at the same time," team owner Richard Childress, Dillon's grandfather, said Saturday afternoon in the Sprint Cup garage. "It was like he'd been shot."

Dillon won the Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway by 9.828 seconds over Kurt Busch. Kentucky is a bumpy track, and running laps around the undulating surface can affect the ride heights of the cars. That's exactly what Childress believes happened to Dillon on Friday night.

"We use 1,200-pound springs to keep the back end up," Childress said. "A rear jack bolt worked its way back on a rough track. It was certainly nothing intentional -- and it certainly wasn't an advantage."

Dillon likely will have to wait until early next week to learn the price of the infraction. NASCAR typically assesses penalties on Tuesday after the weekly competition meeting.

WHAT TRAFFIC ISSUE?

A combination of massive improvements in infrastructure and a lower car count eradicated the traffic problem that limited access to Kentucky Speedway last year.

"I'm very pleased with the all the changes we made," said track owner Bruton Smith, chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc. "We spent millions and millions of dollars. Our state of Kentucky spent millions. What used to be a two-lane road out here, (Highway) 35, is basically operating now at seven lanes, so that's a huge advantage . . .

"We've done a lot of things here to accommodate the race fans and make it much nicer and fan-friendly.

"The highway patrol has been very, very involved in preparing and training all year, and they've done an outstanding job. We've been looking at their reports every 15 minutes today (Saturday), and traffic is moving."

Acknowledging that Saturday's crowd would be smaller than last year's, Smith conceded that attending a debut race held an attraction for certain fans.

"We could blame the heat wave," Smith said before Saturday night's Quaker State 400. "We could blame a lot of different things. When you are new and different, and it's the first, a lot of times fans respond -- they want to be at the inaugural. Last year, that was the inaugural.

"I can assure you that we will have a big crowd. It will be in excess of 100,000. That to me is a plus. It won't be sold out, in my opinion, but if we make a mistake and sell it out, so be it. We're prepared in every way here in case something like that should happen."

YOU CAN BANK ON PETTY

When it comes to helping military families, team owner and seven-time Sprint Cup champion Richard Petty is at the forefront.

Richard Petty Motorsports kicked off its three-race primary sponsorship with Eckrich on Friday with the unveiling of a "piggy bank" made from a Sprint Cup racing tire. Proceeds from the tire banks, which also will travel to Eckrich-sponsored races at Indianapolis and Michigan, support Operation Homefront, which supports military families through its network of more than 4,500 volunteers.

In addition, Eckrich (part of the John Morrell Food group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods) will donate five cents of the revenue of specially marked products, up to $200,000, through July 4.

Petty and Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 RPM Ford, kicked off the campaign by depositing 43 cents each into the tire bank unveiled behind Almirola's transporter.

"This is for the military families that get lost in the shuffle," said Petty, who will turn 75 on Monday. "This is for the families more than the enlisted people. We've always been a family race team that wants to give back to the people who sacrifice so much for us.

"Hopefully the fans will keep filling up this bank as a simple way to say thanks to all our military families."